UPDATED at 14:08 ET in Washington on Sept. 3, 2024.
China has adopted a resolution condemning a series of U.S. sanctions against the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and providing support for affected companies, state media reported.
The U.S. introduced the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, or UFLPA, in 2022 with the goal of ensuring that American entities are not funding forced labor among ethnic minorities in the region.
As of August this year, Americans were banned from doing business with 73 companies on the act's Entity List, although a broader prohibition on importing any goods produced even in part by the slave labor of Uyghurs was already in place.
All 73 blacklisted companies are accused of either working directly with local authorities in Xinjiang region, where the majority of the mostly Muslim minority live, to forcibly employ imprisoned Uyghurs, or else of sourcing inputs from companies that do so.
The sanctioned companies are involved in industries such as textiles and clothing, and silicon-based solar products.
The Chinese resolution, which took effect on Monday, aims to “expose to both the international community and the people of Xinjiang, what is clearly the U.S. sinister intention in implementing sanctions against Xinjiang, to reveal the U.S. suppression of the region’s enterprises and its undermining of Xinjiang’s social stability and development,” Xinhua News Agency reported on Tuesday.
“The rights of workers of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang are guaranteed and people live harmonious lives,” the resolution stated, according to Xinhua.
“However, neglecting these facts and such progress, the U.S. maliciously slanders the human rights situation in Xinjiang,” it said.
“U.S. unilateral sanctions and the implementation of long-arm jurisdiction violate international law and business ethics, undermine the stability of global industrial and supply chains, and disrupt the international trade order.”
Calling the UFLPA “unwarranted,” the news agency said the resolution urged the U.S. to “restore a fair market environment for sanctioned enterprises, a development environment in which people in Xinjiang can pursue a happy life, and a fair economic, trade and rule of law environment for the international community.”
Under the resolution, local governments are encouraged to help sanctioned companies expand their domestic and international markets, promote their products, boost innovation, and strengthen the appeal of company brands, according to Xinhua.
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Since 2021, the U.S. government has accused China of carrying out a campaign of “genocide” against Uyghurs and other Muslims in Xinjiang, including by sterilizing women, banning the exercise of culture and imprisoning many Uyghurs in high-security internment camps.
Escaped Uyghurs report being forced to work for Chinese companies for little or no money in order to leave the camps.
Beijing denies that any genocide or slavery is taking place and has defended what it says are “poverty alleviation” programs providing training in vocational skills.
“These sanctions have embarrassed Chinese officials and affected the export of Chinese goods,” said human rights lawyer Teng Biao.
Biao noted, however, that it was unusual for a resolution related to the United States to come from a regional government, and not the National People's Congress in Beijing.
Xinjiang party members may be trying to obtain economic support for regional industries from the central government, according to China expert Raymond Kuo at the Rand Corporation, a Washington think tank.
“The Chinese economy is not doing great right now,” he said.
Edited by Mike Firn. Adds expert comments at end.